Yesterday I had the pleasure of showing Jon & Sara some of the best Rock Scrambles in the Lake District. There's so much to choose from and we'd discussed a variety of options in advance of meeting. A day in Langdale became the plan, and what a great day we had.

We began scrambling within a couple of hundred metres of the car park. Following Stickle Ghyll we scrambled by the side of waterfalls, traversing over and around pools of deep water, and boulder hopped all the way up to Stickle Tarn. This in itself is already a few hundred metres of top notch scrambling. Today this merely got us to our lunch break, a warm up if you like.The main event lay ahead, across the far side of Stickle Tarn, on the big brooding face of Pavey Ark. Jack's Rake is an absolute classic Lakeland scramble. For situation and character alone it's amongst the very best there is. Add to this the impeccable rock found on. the upper section of the route and for me it shoots up to numero uno.

We cruised up the rake, taking our time to enjoy the moves, the rock, the views, and stopping from time to time to savour the splendour of Langdale and the distant skyline of the Coniston Fells.

All too soon we arrive at the top and on to the summit of PAvey Ark. The wind on the summit was doing its best to ask us to leave, so we obliged!A hasty retreat back towards the tarn and down to the valley via Pike Howe saw us comfortably out of the bitterly chilly wind. ​Costa del Langdale welcomed our tired bodies with warm sunshine and autumnal colours all around.

A brilliant day in the mountains, thanks to Jon & Sara from the flatlands of Norfolk.

Our previous walking trip with Nigel had been hampered by poor weather, well that's North Wales for you! So a new schedule was put together, this time in the Lake District and its finest of valleys, Langdale.

As Nigel was booked in at The New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel, we made a plan to walk from the door each day, and we succeeded.

Monday gave us glorious sunshine for much of the day. We took in all of the Langdale Pikes and included an ascent of Jacks Rake, so plenty of fun scrambling squeezed in to the day. We fly around this circuit in under 5 hours too, phew!

Tuesday brought more challenging weather, a good wake up for us. Very strong and bitterly cold winds saw us don hat & gloves early on. We had Bowfell in our sights and choose to go up The Band then on to the Climbers Traverse as far as The Great Spout. After a rest here it was onwards and upwards via the majestic Great Slab. After being sheltered from the wind below The Great Slab it was something of a blow (so to speak) being up on the summit of Bowfell and back in the full force of that North-Westerly!! A few other hardy walkers were out enjoying the day too.We dropped down to Three Tarns then took a small path into Oxendale - a valley I'd never visited before - so we could visit Whorneyside Force and Crinkle Gill. This proved very worthwhile as the valley and Gills are all stunningly beautiful.

For our final day of walking this week the weather gods had turned against us somewhat. So we decided to turn this to our advantage and stay in the valleys to visit some amazing waterfalls. Again walking from The New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel we followed good tracks to Little Langdale and Cathedral Quarry, having an explore here before continuing to Colwith Force and Skelwith Force, both in full flow and most impressive. Our return route being via Elterwater and Chapel Stile then along the bottom of Langdale valley. Looking ahead to Stickle Ghyll in spate was very impressive. The power of nature is so great.

Tired legs and refreshed minds all round. Thanks Nigel.

Mark

Getting ready for Jacks Rake - a classic Lakeland scramble

Looking to The Great Slab and on to Langdale Pikes from the summit of Bowfell

Another fantastic day out in the mountains of the Lake District. Got lucky with the weather and enjoyed great company all day.

The objective being Jack's Rake on Pavey Ark. We walked briskly to Stickle Tarn, took a quick breather and a few photos (which i managed to delete!) before cruising around to the base of Jake's Rake. This being the 'main event' and I think something Jane has been keen to complete for quite some time.

We geared up with helmets & harness, then set off into the Rake. Taking our time to consider movement over steep, rocky terrain and look at various safety issues that scrambling routes give rise to. Jane quickly got into a rhythm and was flying up the rocky groove. We paused occasionally for photos and of course to admire the spectacular scenery we were now amongst. ​A solo scrambler passed us about half way up, other than that we had the route to ourselves, pretty lucky for summer holidays.

Lunch with a view at the top and a quick visit to the summit of Pavey Ark, then over to Harrison Stickle, well why not?!

It looked like some heavy rain was fast approaching, so we decided to call it a day and head for home. A grand day with far reaching views and overall lucky with the weather.

Mark setting off on the first section of the East ridge of Harrison Stickle

Yesterday I had been leading a walk over the Langdale Pikes and we included Jacks Rake into the itinerary, which was lovely.​And today i'm back in Langdale, this time for a full day of Rock Scrambling. Mark, who i've previously climbed with on Ill Crag (Scafell range) was back in the Lake District and keen for more quality scrambling and had chosen Langdale for this, good choice.We began with 'The Groove' on Tarn Crag. This is a fine grade 3 route on impeccable rock, with much variety and plenty of opportunity to gain valuable route finding skills whilst on steeper terrain. We flew up this and took in a couple more steep sections higher up before dropping down to Stickle Tarn.

Jacks Rake on Pavey Ark was next up. A striking fault line cutting the a gash across the huge South West face of Pavey Ark, the Rake is prominent from afar. A long scramble and a very strong line, with little / no route finding difficulties in clear weather. We noticed more evidence of rockfall, certainly something to be mindful of on this route. From the top, we descended back towards Stickle Tarn as far as the base of Harrison Stickle.

After a short lunch break we were recharged and ready for more rock action. This time the 'East Ridge of Harrison Stickle'. A grade 2 route involving complex route finding throughout. The rock quality is simply magnificent and despite a few damp patches here and there, it was easy to stick to the dry rock all the way. The scramble goes all the way to the summit of Harrison Stickle.We returned to the New Dungeon Ghyll via the Dungeon Ghyll footpath.

Another fabulous week it's been here in the Lake District.After an 18 month gap, Mina came back to visit us and stayed the whole week. We walked on four days and each time from the door of her Chapel Stile cottage. We also made a visit to Hodge Close Quarry for Steph to have a go at Abseiling. Lots of flora and fauna spotted and amazing waterfalls on the Monday. A good week.

I also managed a quick visit to Gimmer crag in Langdale. 2 routes ticked, with a repeat of Asterisk and new route (for me) 'Detour' which is equally fine, giving thought provoking climbing up the steep wall. Over the years i've climbed many routes here and still haven't found any to be less than brilliant, such an amazing venue.

Yesterday I was out with Annabelle & Daniel from Berkshire for a day of Rock Scrambling, this too was in Langdale. We began in Stickle Ghyll, then branched off onto Tarn crag for an ascent of 'The Groove' (grade 3). Whilst walking over to Pavey Ark we spotted a Ring Ouzel and watched it for a while. After lunch it was up the classic 'Jacks Rake' on Pavey Ark, finishing off with some bouldering on the summit.With plenty time left we dropped down to Stickle tarn and tackled the East ridge of Harrison Stickle (grade 1 - 2) for our final scramble of the day. The heavens opened about half way up so extra care needed on the now slippery rocks. By sticking to the cleanest rock we ascended without drama and soon topped out on the summit for brilliant views (as the above photo shows).

After a night of torrential rain, a visit to Pavey Ark was always going to be an adventure! It didn't disappoint.

Myself & Adrian walked up by Stickle Ghyll as it thundered down the hillside, misty at first, soon the cloud began to break giving some outstanding views of Lingmoor and over to the Coniston fells.

The rain abated, the views opened up, all was well. The rock was still very wet, but our route is definitely best savoured on a damp day, and wow was it damp!!!

The first pitch, all 50 metres of it felt very greasy so we took extra care. The traverse pitch had a waterfall falling onto it, so it was hoods up and prepare for a drenching, oh yeh. This is the 'money' pitch and absolutely amazing, especially so with so much water on it, epic conditions.

Soon we were onto Jack's Rake, so a quick ascent up to the top, break for lunch and a swift descent back to the New Dungeon Ghyll.

On Sunday I had the pleasure of a morning with Andzelika & Eugene from Ulverston. We've now climbed together a few times, but so far this has always been in the Langdale valley. Eager to show off more fine climbing venues in the Lakes and somewhere a little closer to Ulverston, I chose Wallowbarrow crag in the Duddon valley.

A multi-pitch route of 'vdiff' standard was chosen, 4 pitches in length and providing excellent and varied climbing the whole way. Trinity Slabs was to be their second multi-pitch route to date (the first being Middlefell Buttress in Langdale) and I think the exposure and moves were thoroughly enjoyed. It's always a fine achievement to arrive at the top of a long climb, and today was no exception.As well as enjoying the climb, we took the time to practice belaying, look at various anchor set-ups, and chat about other safety considerations. Climbing in 'series' allows for a more relaxing time, less rope management problems, and more time for teaching skills to each climber.All in all, a grand morning, and it stayed dry!

Monday was spent working on CPD, and specifically Rock Scrambling skills and techniques when moving as a team of 3.So along with Kristina (who was looking for a good mountain day out), and Si (who wanted to recce the routes we were about to do), I headed out into Langdale and Middlefell Buttress followed by Crescent Climb on Pavey Ark.

My motivation being the ability to try out new techniques and further consolidate existing skills and have direct feedback on a continual basis.Middlefell went very well and we made a rapid ascent, even the final steep wall proving quick an easy, clearly we were all moving well today.So far we had looked at distance between the two seconds, length of an isolation loop for the person in the middle of the rope, stance management, belay methods, and various ways of attaching scramblers to the anchor system, phew!

Once clear of the top of the crag we un-roped and moved quickly to Pavey Ark, where the next chapter of scrambling would begin. There were already climbers on a neighbouring route (Crescent Slabs) ,but this was unlikely to effect us. After a brief rest we roped up again and I set off up this 'Moderate' climb / scramble. The aim initially was to find a belay within about 25m of the start. Thankfully this was duly found, an excellent spike, although slightly shallow, the rock was totally sound and a downward force would keep a sling firmly in place. A very good start to the route.

Belaying with an Italian Hitch, it's easy to quickly tie off when the first scrambler arrives, thus leaving both hands free to manage the rope for the second climber. Sometimes I was able to use a counter-balance to secure Si & Kristina, other times clove hitches were more appropriate, and the immediate feedback from both was invaluable.

We hit a minor traffic jam on the traverse pitch (the other climbers we'd seen earlier had arrived on the traverse at the same time as we did), so a little patience was called for, as well as some good humoured banter.The final pitch of this route is very straightforward, if exposed, scrambling up grassy slopes to reach Jacks Rake. From here we un-roped and made our way down the Rake and into the valley.A very good day out, thanks both. Feedback was 'Nice and slick' - splendid.

And yesterday was back onto rock climbing once more. This time White Ghyll.Jane being a very experienced climber, we were alternate leading the pitches of Slab Routes 1 & 2. These give some very interesting climbing on excellent rock. Protection is adequate but never overly generous, this helps keep the mind well focused on the task.Climbing in this way is very efficient, so we soon had the first route ticked and were back at the crag base in time for an early lunch.Then it was onto the second route. Although described as a 3 pitch route, there are definitely 4 if using a single rope as we were. The climbing wanders around quite a lot in the early pitches, but this brings with it some amazing positions. The upper sections are quite straight and it's more a case of head towards the sky style climbing, picking what looks best along the way.We briefly touched on some skills along the way, but mostly today was about time on rock, enjoying brilliant Lakeland rock. White Ghyll delivers.

The Langdale Pikes are some of my favourite Lakeland fells so it is always a pleasure when clients ask us for a guided walk here. I set off from Stickle Barn with Dean and Justine who were on their honeymoon - a couple who opted not for warm, sandy beaches but for an active holiday in the lovely Lake District! This was last week and it was a cold, windy day and the cloud was down by the time we were half way up Pavey Ark so views from the tops were not great. After Pavey Ark we headed over to Harrison Stickle and then onto Pike O'Stickle with it's rocky top which we scrambled up. Then over to Loft Crag before heading back down to the shelter of the valley. It's not often you have the mountains to yourselves but today was almost one of these. We'd seen no one at all on the walk and were just heading off Loft Crag for the path down when we spied a couple wandering around. They'd lost their bearings and were searching for the way down to Langdale - luckily they met us as it was pretty cold to be hanging around on the tops for long!

Another dry day here in the Lake District so it was time for a break from admin catch up and time for a trip to the mountains.Not wanting to spend too much time out, I opted for a scrambling route in the Langdale valley. The aim was to link a number of routes on my way to the summits.

Starting at the New Dungeon Ghyll, I quickly took to the rocks of Stickle ghyll, so much more fun than sticking to the footpath. In no time at all I was at the now completed 'Stickle ghyll Hydro Scheme' and thankfully this is now very much in keeping with the surrounding landscape (photo below).

More scrambling in the gorge took me to the foot of Tarn crag, the next objective. Often we take a grade 3 route up the left hand edge of the crag, but for a change I started at the far right hand side and climbed a slightly easier route to the mini-summit, all on impeccable rock.

Looking down on Stickle tarn, there were a few hill-walkers around admiring the view over to Pavey Ark, I took some time to do so too, pondering which route to take next, Jacks Rake was calling, but i'd already set my mind on the Harrison Stickle route.

It's been well over a year (maybe 2) since I climbed any of the rock routes on Harrison Stickle, and my memory of them was a little hazy! No matter, have a look at a route that appeals and go for it, and this worked perfectly well. Although the mountain looks very rocky from the base, there are many ways to carve a route up the craggy faces without too much difficulty.

There were a few walkers on the summit and views were actually very good, despite there being cloud at about 800m. It was chilly so I began the retreat down to the valley, via Stickle tarn, arriving back just as the first drops of rain did!!

3 really good rock scrambles, all very easily linked via short walks making for a varied trip out, one of many that can be done in the Langdale valley.

Keen for a day of Rock Scrambling? Get in touch, we'll put together a perfect day for you.